ORCID
0000-0003-1382-9515
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Animal Nutrition and Food Science
First Advisor
Jana Kraft
Abstract
Dairy foods are widely available sources of nutrition. They are produced across the United States, and, in Vermont, dairy production is a cornerstone of the state’s agriculture and economy. In the diet, these foods provide energy and essential nutrients, including shortfall nutrients of concern. The fat in dairy foods is the most complex and unique fat source found in nature, but it is also a rich source of saturated fat, which has been proposed to be associated with poor metabolic health outcomes. As a result, dietary guidance from public health authorities in the United States and internationally (e.g., the World Health Organization), recommends the consumption of low- or non-fat dairy foods in place of full-fat dairy foods for metabolic health. Recent observational research, however, suggests that full-fat dairy foods may have beneficial health effects, but randomized controlled trials are needed to determine cause-and-effect relationships. Identifying dietary strategies to improve metabolic health is essential as the incidence of these conditions, such as prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, is increasing globally. Importantly, prediabetes represents a critical public health intervention point to prevent or delay the development of type 2 diabetes. This work therefore sought to evaluate the effect of full-fat (3.25%) yogurt on metabolic health outcomes in individuals with prediabetes. Specifically, we aimed to characterize differences in glucose homeostasis, inflammatory tone, and the lipid profile in response to consuming a diet with full-fat yogurt compared to a diet with non-fat yogurt. This study used a randomized crossover design in which participants consumed controlled diets with three daily servings of either full-fat or non-fat yogurt for three weeks each. Following each diet period, biomarkers of metabolic health were analyzed. Modest benefits on whole-body glucose handling were observed in response to the full-fat yogurt diet. This was primarily evidenced by lower concentrations of fructosamine, a marker of average blood glucose concentrations over a two- to three-week period. Further, we detected only minimal differences in inflammatory tone between the full-fat and non-fat yogurt diets. The concentrations of most inflammatory signaling molecules were not different between diets. Yet, consumption of the full-fat yogurt diet resulted in beneficial changes in the blood lipid profile, namely markedly lower concentrations of triacylglycerol in the blood as well as the lower triacylglycerol contents of several smaller lipoprotein particles. Our results indicate that consumption of full-fat yogurt, compared with non-fat yogurt, elicits distinct metabolic health benefits in individuals with prediabetes. In the context of the existing literature, there is convincing evidence to suggest that full-fat dairy foods may contribute to a healthy diet.
Language
en
Number of Pages
490 p.
Recommended Citation
Taormina, Victoria Marie, "Exploring the effects of dairy fat on cardiometabolic health in a short-term controlled-feeding trial comparing full-fat yogurt with non-fat yogurt" (2025). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 2016.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/2016
